The 12th Street Riot in Detroit began in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967. Vice squad officers executed a raid at a blind pig on the corner of 12th Street and Clairmount on the city's near westside. The confrontation with the patrons there evolved into one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in modern U.S. history, lasting five days and far surpassing the 1943 riot the city endured. Before the end, the state and federal governments, under order of then President Lyndon B. Johnson, sent in National Guard and U.S. Army troops and the result was forty-three dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests and more than 2,000 buildings burned down. The scope of the riot was eclipsed in scale only by the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Detroit has never fully recovered from the after-effects of the riot and the negative domestic and international media coverage. The riot was prominently featured in the news media, with live television coverage, extensive newspaper reporting, and an extensive cover stories in Time magazine and Life on August 4, 1967. The Detroit Free Press won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage.



In the early hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967, Detroit police officers expected to find only two individuals in the blind pig, but instead there were 82 people celebrating the return of two local veterans from the war in Vietnam. Despite the large number, police decided to arrest everyone present. A crowd soon gathered around the establishment, protesting as patrons were led away.

After the last police car left, a group of angry black males, who had observed the incident, began breaking the windows of the adjacent clothing store. Shortly thereafter, full-scale rioting began throughout the neighborhood, which continued into Monday, July 24, 1967, and for the next few days. Despite a conscious effort by the local news media to avoid reporting on it so as not to inspire copy-cat violence, the mayhem expanded to other parts of the city with theft and destruction beyond the 12th Street/Clairmount Avenue vicinity.

Michigan Governor George Romney and President Lyndon Johnson initially disagreed about the legality of sending in federal troops. Johnson said he could not send federal troops in without Romney declaring a "state of insurrection". Romney was reluctant to make that declaration for fear that doing so would relieve insurance companies of their obligations to reimburse policyholders for the damage being done.

The violence escalated throughout Monday, July 24, resulting in some 483 fires, 231 incidents reported per hour, and 1800 arrests. Looting and arson were widespread. Snipers took shots at firefighters who were attempting to fight the fires, possibly with some with the 2,498 rifles and 38 handguns that were stolen from local stores. It was obvious that the Detroit and Michigan forces were unable to keep the peace.

On Monday, U.S. Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan), who was against Federal troop deployment, attempted to ease tensions but was unsuccessful. Reportedly, Conyers stood on the hood of the car and shouted through a bullhorn, "We're with you! But, please! This is not the way to do things! Please go back to your homes!" But the crowd refused to listen. One civil rights activist (whom Conyers had once defended in a trial) allegedly responded, "Why are you defending the cops and the establishment? You're just as bad as they are!" Conyers' car was pelted with rocks and bottles, one of them hitting a nearby cop. According to reports, as Conyers climbed down from the hood of the car, he remarked to a reporter in disgust, "You try to talk to those people and they'll knock you into the middle of next year."[2]

Likewise, Detroit Tigers left-fielder Willie Horton, a black Detroit resident who grew up not far from the blind pig, drove to the riot area after his game and stood on a car in the middle of the crowd while he was still wearing his uniform. However, despite his impassioned pleas, he could not calm the angry mob.

Shortly before midnight on Monday, July 24, President Johnson authorized use of Federal troops by using a law from 1795, which stated that the President may call in armed forces whenever there is an insurrection in any state against the government.[3] The 82nd Airborne had earlier been positioned at nearby Selfridge Air Force Base in suburban Macomb County, along with National Guard troops who were federalized at that time. Starting at 1:30 AM Tuesday July 25, some 8,000 National Guardsmen were deployed to quell the disorder. Later their number would be augmented with 4,700 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne, and 360 Michigan State Police.

There is some discussion that the deployment of troops incited more violence, although the riot ended within 48 hours of their deployment. National Guard troops were engaged in firefights with locals, resulting in deaths both to locals and the troops. Tanks and machine guns were used in the effort to keep the peace. Film footage and photos shown internationally were of a city on fire, with tanks and combat troops in firefights in the streets, sealing Detroit's reputation for decades to come.

Wow, after having lived through the Los Angeles riot, I know riots start as a result of pent-up frusturation of injustices and inequalities.  I can imagine there was a long road leading up to that riot by the Detroit police being overly heavy handed with how they dealt with the black citizens.  After arresting everyone at a party celebrating the coming home of a Viet Nam vetran was more than they could stand.

And a riot is like a wild fire.  It feeds upon itself until it consumes all of the fuel, and only then will it dissipate.  That's why Conyers and the baseball player could do nothing.  The riot had to take it's course unless stronger intervention was implemented, and in this case, that would only have been by calling in the National Guard.

I remember driving down the streets of Los Angeles and seeing military vehicles with fully armed soldiers driving next to me.  At the time, all I could compare it to was Berut, Lebanon.